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January 2, 2026 | S2 EP 8
AI for Frontline Teams is Changing How Stores Run
Fabrice Haiat | Co-Founder & CEO | YOOBIC
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SHOW NOTES

Retail has never lacked ambition. What it’s lacked is a way for frontline leaders to know what to do next, without stopping the business to figure it out.

In this episode of FRONTLINE FRIDAYS, host Ron Thurston sits down with Fabrice Haiat, Co-founder and CEO of YOOBIC, to explore one of the most important shifts happening in retail right now: how AI is moving from theory to real, day-to-day execution inside stores.

Drawing on his experience growing up in a retail family and years spent shadowing store managers, Fabrice explains why most initiatives fail on the floor. Store leaders are buried in emails, reports, and dashboards, forced to interpret strategy while running a live operation. AI only creates value, he argues, when it removes that burden, collapsing complexity into clear, contextual priorities for each store.

If you’ve ever wondered why execution is still the hardest part of retail, this conversation explains why, and what to do about it.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • (03:48) How growing up in a retail family shaped Fabrice’s view of frontline execution and technology
  • (07:55) Why the real gap in retail is between strategy and execution, not ideas or investment
  • (09:17) The early moment that proved frontline technology could scale and deliver immediate impact
  • (11:25) Why AI feels like a once-in-a-generation shift, similar to GPS or smartphones
  • (12:44) Why 2026 will be the year retailers move from pilots to scaled frontline AI
  • (13:59) How AI can act as both a coach and a sparring partner for leadership decisions
  • (15:19) What personalization at scale really means for frontline teams and store managers
  • (16:59) Why AI delivers one of the fastest ROIs in retail through compounded frontline performance
  • (18:58) How AI elevates frontline work by removing low-value tasks and increasing retention
  • (23:36) The real-world results retailers are already seeing from frontline AI today
  • (29:02) Why store-level AI copilots are becoming a new standard for frontline roles
  • (33:24) What it means to give every store manager the tools to operate like the CEO of their store
  • (38:41) Fabrice’s advice for leaders: start now, focus on one problem, and lead proactively

BONUS CONTENT

  • Read the full blog on why why information overload is killing store performance here
  • Be first to see Store Manager Copilot at NRF 2026

GUEST BIO

Fabrice Haiat is the Co-Founder and CEO of YOOBIC, the leading digital workplace for frontline teams.

Born and raised in Paris, Fabrice built YOOBIC there with his brothers after recognizing a massive gap in the modern workplace: while most enterprise tech is built for desk-based employees, the world’s frontline workers — in retail, hospitality, logistics, and beyond — have historically been overlooked.

What started as an idea in Paris quickly took off. As YOOBIC grew into a category-defining platform used by hundreds of global brands, Fabrice moved his family to the United States six years ago to accelerate the company’s international expansion. Today, YOOBIC empowers millions of frontline employees with a mobile-first platform that unifies communication, learning, operations, and performance insights — all designed to help teams feel more connected, supported, and effective on the job.

Fabrice is driven by a belief that exceptional employee experience fuels exceptional customer experience, and his vision has helped reshape how organizations engage and empower their frontline teams.

On a personal level, Fabrice is the proud father of three, a passionate martial arts practitioner, an enthusiastic ping-pong competitor, and a devoted fan of classic New York pizza — a passion he happily embraced after relocating to the U.S.

Before launching YOOBIC, Fabrice began his career at McKinsey & Company and co-founded Vizelia, an energy-monitoring SaaS startup later acquired by Schneider Electric. He holds an engineering degree from École Centrale Paris.

ABOUT FRONTLINE FRIDAYS

Your store teams feel it: more pressure, more change, less time to get it right. FRONTLINE FRIDAYS helps you turn that pressure into impact.

Built for senior retail + hospitality field leaders, each episode features candid conversations with execs from iconic brands, sharing tactics you can use today.

HOSTED BY RON THURSTON. Ron is a global retail leadership expert and two-time bestselling author of RETAIL PRIDE (2020) and HUMAN PRIDE (2025).